President Bush Invites Little League Tee Ball Teams from Puerto Rico, New Jersey to White House

President Bush Invites Little League Tee Ball Teams from Puerto Rico, New Jersey to White House

By Little League Communications Division

June 12, 2008

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (June 12, 2008) – Tee Ball teams from Puerto Rico and New Jersey will play in the first “Tee Ball on the South Lawn” game of 2008, it was announced today by Little League International at a news conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In keeping with the tradition of Tee Ball on the South Lawn games, no score will be kept between the José M. Rodriguez Little League Angels and the Cramer Hill Little League Red Sox of Camden, N.J. Every player on both teams will play on defense and bat once in the one-inning game on June 30, to be followed by a picnic on the South Lawn for players and families. A baseball autographed by President George W. Bush will be presented – by the President himself – to each player, manager, and coach. Game time is to be announced.

The game is the 18th on the South Lawn of the White House since May 6, 2001, when President Bush began the initiative as a way to boost interest in youth sports among children and parents. It will celebrate the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the sport of baseball.

The second game will be on July 16th, and will bring together players from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia for an all-star tee ball game. The third and final tee ball game of the year will be held later in the summer on a date to be announced, featuring children from each branch of the military, giving the President an opportunity to honor families in the armed services.

President Bush, the first former Little Leaguer to be elected to the nation’s highest office, played Little League Baseball at Central Little League in Midland, Texas, in the mid-1950s. He was on the Cubs, and was a catcher. In 2001, President Bush was enshrined in the Little League Museum Hall of Excellence when he visited the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

The Tee Ball on the South Lawn games are made possible through the generosity of these sponsors: Wilson Sporting Goods, New Era caps, Russell Athletic, Musco Sports Lighting, Dick’s Sporting Goods, AIG Insurance and Subway.

Little League Baseball and Softball is the world’s largest youth sports organization, with nearly 2.7 million children participating in every U.S. state and dozens of other countries on six continents. Little League is the only youth sports organization to be chartered by the U.S. Congress.

These nine members of the Cramer Hill Little League Red Sox Tee Ball team from Camden, N.J., will be playing in the first “Tee Ball Game on the South Lawn” game of 2008. The initiative, developed by President George W. Bush to boost interest in youth sports among children and parents, began in 2001. This game, the 18th in the series, is scheduled to be played June 30th.